Your connection with Grad studies at Queen's

ahrhrrhrhrhhrhrhggg!

I’ve been staring at my computer for way too long already today, trying to pound out an essay for one of my classes. I know, I know – I worked as a professional journalist in my past life but man-oh-man, I do find essay-writing to be something of a slog.

I guess that’s par for the course though, right? If essay writing were a breeze, then there would be no point. But I really do find the task of writing a well-articulated 25 page paper a challenge. Right now it feels like a ridiculously impossible, hugely laughable challenge. Right now it feels downright daunting.

My strategy is to try and break it up into little goals. I’ve already managed to get four double-spaced pages written. My goal for today is to write another four. Easy, right? Well, no. I’ve managed about half a page, and am mostly just making myself more muddled.

Why so challenging, you ask? Why not just hunker down and get it done?

Hmm…maybe it’s the fact that it will be graded? Graded=judged, and really, who likes to be judged? Better to avoid it with procrastination.

Hmm… what else. It’s a beautiful day – bright and sunny. Surely there are a million other, more interesting things I could be doing out there right now? How about a walk? Who wants to go for a chat and a coffee? I could go to yoga. I could tidy up my desk? (ha!) I could buy groceries and cook up some amazing meal and invite all my friends over, ply them (and myself) with wine and forget my troubles? I could surf the internet, find random high school friends on Facebook, or wile away the hours on YouTube. Oh wait- I know: I could check my email, like, eighty-four zillion times a day, because heck, you just never know…

Ok, I should get back to it. I fear my updates for the next little bit will be nothing but moaning but how horribly it’s all going, but hey- I’m supposed to write about real grad student life, right? heh.